Typhoon Hagibis hammers Japan, 11 dead, several missing
At least eleven people have died and 17 are reportedly missing after Typhoon Hagibis made landfall in Japan on Saturday. The most powerful typhoon to slam Japan in decades adversely affected capital Tokyo, prompting Japan's military to rescue people. Though the typhoon weakened by Sunday morning and got off the land, it left behind a trail of destruction. Here are more details.
With high-speed, Hagibis made landfall. Soon, rivers overflowed
Hagibis made landfall before 7 pm (local time) in Izu Peninsula, near Tokyo, and then moved towards the east coast. As a result, over a half-million homes were stripped of electricity. The wind speed was recorded at 225 kmph, so one can only imagine the havoc it wreaked. Rivers breached banks in at least 14 spots leading to floods in neighborhood areas.
Nagano was the worst-hit due to typhoon
According to reports, at least 99 people have been injured in different areas of Japan. Nagano, a city in central Japan, was worst-hit due to the typhoon. After the bank of Chikuma river collapsed, residential areas were inundated with floodwater. Meanwhile, in the main island of Honshu, nearly 6 million people were asked to evacuate. Rail and airport services were also suspended.
Over 2 lakh homes of Tokyo remained without power
The busy streets of Tokyo remained deserted as people stayed indoors to save themselves from torrential rains. As per the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) and Chub Electric Power Company, at least 292,770 homes remained without power. Aerial footage showed that several bullet trains were submerged in water. Courtesy the destruction, organizers of Rugby World Cup canceled yet another match.
For first time in tournament's history, matches were canceled
On Saturday, England-France and New Zealand-Italy matches were declared as draws. The contest between Namibia and Canada also met the same fate on Sunday. This is for the first time in 32 years of the tournament's history that matches were canceled.
A van flipped due to winds, killing a man
The first victim of Hagibis was a driver whose van flipped over. The second man, who lost his life, was in his 60s. Another man died after he was pulled out from his flooded house in Tokyo. "The house was two to three meters underwater and the team rescued the man from there," an official said. A woman died in Samigahara due to landslide.